I am upgrading and detailing an old Athearn GP38-2 and adding headlights. Who makes a circuit board to control front and rear lights and provides pins for a future decoder.
Thanks, Dan
Dan
Athearn makes one http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH90616
Many of the elecrical wizards here prefer to replace the DC circuit board rather than use the plug option. They also replace the bulbs with LED's and resistors.
Your question implies that you are not running DCC now but will in the future. I know money can be a problem, I know very few people who have too much of it, but I would urge you to make the DCC conversion sooner than later, you will like it.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Thanks BigDaddy. There is no circuit board in the model, it's that old! Yes I am going to use LEDs for lights, rotating beacon,etc. I'll check out the Athearn board.
I would suggest LED's and a 1k, 1/4 watt resistor.
I have read here a few times that Athearn uses 1.5 volt light bulbs which can be the weak link.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Check out this thread too
http://bigbluetrains.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7919
I'm not sure all your planned functions can work with DC. Nor do I know that the board will simply drop in to your loco. TCS Wow sound has a website that shows various installations of DCC decoders in various makes of locos I'll let you do the googling.
Ulrich used to have a nice resistor board to connect multiple LEDs. Theyhave since closed, but Accu Lites has a similar item.
http://acculites.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=40_76&products_id=640
You connect the decoder wires to this board. You connect your LEDs to this board. It has the resistors. Instead of soldering leads together and then forgetting to put the heat shrink on first, this is just soldering the wire to the circuit board.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I am in the middle of converting a Atheran Ready to Roll, an early release, to DCC. I am using the the ATH 90616 circuit board as a starting point.
You do have to do a little work, such as isolating the motor from the chassis ground, and running some wire from the trucks to the circuit board and a wire from the circuit board to the bottom of the motor, (the ground connection).
Do remember that the headlight outputs are 1.5 vdc on this board.